DARPA is offering tens of millions of dollars in funding to teams anywhere in the world that are willing to build robots capable of performing the complicated tasks the challenge offers. The winner of the contest will get $2 million in cash. As I mentioned before, the robots have to be able to complete a series of complicated steps simulating a robot helping in the event of an industrial disaster. The robot has to be able to open doors, walk through rubble-strewn walls, and turn valves in addition other tasks.

The program is looking to develop the robotics hardware itself and open-source software simulations as well. The official goal of the contest according to DARPA is to “develop ground robotic capabilities to execute complex tasks in dangerous, degraded, human-engineered environments.” Key robotic technologies the program aims to advance include “supervised autonomy, mounted mobility, dismounted mobility, dexterity, strength, and platform endurance.”

The program has two phases in the competitive challenge. The first phase spans 15 months ranging from October 1, 2012 to December 31, 2013, while the second phase will last for 12 months kicking off January 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014. The cash purse will be awarded to the winner at the end of the second challenge. There are a variety of Tracks running during the program, with a handful of participants being selected for up to $3 million in funding, while other Tracks will receive smaller amounts of funding for development of software only, or those who wish to fund their own entries. Teams without hardware may be able to leverage a DARPA-provided platform robot but will still have to develop the control software to put the robot through its paces.

DARPA plans on holding an online Proposers’ Day workshop on April 16th to provide more info for potential participants, and you can find out more specifics on the Robotics Challenge here.

[via IEEE Spectrum]

Three lucky Technabob readers will win a set of 100 custom printed MOO business cards, along with a ShowCase business card holder to carry them in. The  MOO cards themselves can be printed from either your own full color images, or from hundreds of artist-made design templates.

Cards can feature full color on both sides, and you can even have different images on each of your cards if you’d like. The process is fast and easy, and we here at Technabob can speak from experience as we’ve printed our own business cards using MOO’s service.

So on to the good part. If you’d like a chance to win these cards for yourself, simply follow the directions in the form below. You can win up to 10 entries by performing more tasks.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

In addition to business cards, MOO offers custom printed postcards, greeting cards, stickers and labels, as well as awesome mini cards.

Each artist was asked to submit their own personal vision of Siri. The winner in the 3D design catergory was SaGa Design with their Omniscient Siri case. As soon as I saw it, I thought of Masamune Shirow’s epic Ghost in the Shell. I think this would fit right in.

The case features the image of a woman (presumably Siri) pushing out of the front of the iPhone 4 like something out of Videodrome. Naturally, the case was rendered using Shapeway’s 3D printing tech.

Thanks to the wonders of 3D printing, you can buy one of these if you’d like to. Prices start at $90(USD) for the white version, and go up to $350 for a glossy gold-plated version. Just don’t ask me how to fit it in your pocket.

[via Shapeways]

Sony has put up a website called Grab the Ring, which is part of a promotional contest for Uncharted 3.

Though it sounds like a website where gold-diggers can meet up and exchange stories about how they separated an old guy from his money, and got a pay-off when he took a dirt nap, that’s not it at all. Though I’m sure that also exists. On this website, you can activate your webcam and then hold up your arm as if holding the game’s thematic ring floating in the air. If you can outlast everyone else, you can get $10,000. If you don’t quite have what it takes to beat everyone else, you’ll still get some neat weapons and clothes for your in-game persona in multiplayer mode.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

The first prize comes after just 15 seconds. After 4 minutes, players get the Treasure Hunter Starter’s Pack. If you are in it for hours, you can unlock some weapons. You’ll see trailers for the game in the background and Kevin Butler will occasionally taunt you too.

For the ten grand, 8:45 is the current time to beat. 8 long hours, 45 minutes. Seems crazy, but then again we are talking $10,000(USD) here. Too bad geeks have weak girl arms.

[via Geek]

John built the robot from scratch using sheet styrene. He drew a reference sketch of the ‘bot that he used throughout the creation process. All of the joints were made so that they would allow the resulting ‘bot to be posed. I have to say that it looks pretty awesome.

The Q-14 Reconnaissance robot’s construction is fully detailed on the Neiner family blog.

Would you scratch-build your own ‘bot like this? It’s a pretty daunting project, but when you take it one step at a time, I suppose anything is possible.

[via Make:]

I don’t know what Shelly Sabel used to coat the bullet Jell-os she molded, but all I can say is, she’s good. And so are the rest of the people who participated in the 2011 Jell-o Mold Competition.

Shelly didn’t win first prize though. You might be wondering what on earth could outdo these smashing jelly bullets, but apparently, the judges were more partial to Peter Pracilio’s entry, appropriately called Jelly Fishin’.

Check out more entries in the Jell-o competition below. Personally, my favorite from the bunch is the Can of Jelly Worms entry. What’s yours?

[via Geeky Gadgets]

All you need to do is post a comment below, and tell us the most ridiculous thing you ever did as a result of too much (or too little) caffeine, and you’ll be entered to win.

Two winners will be randomly selected from all entries, and each winner will receive one box each of Stay Puft caffeinated marshmallows. Each box contains 24 of the potent marshmallows, inspired by the Stay Puft marshmallow man of Ghostbusters fame.

(Contest runs from 4/4/2011 through 4/13/2011 at 11:59pm Central time. Winner must provide a valid e-mail address. Contest open to U.S. delivery addresses only. Prizes provided by 80stees.)

If you’ve never heard of ArtRage, it’s really is a spectacular (and reasonably priced) art application. It provides beautiful digital simulation of oils, watercolors, markers, pencils and other natural media. And despite its tremendous depth (with features like layering, stencils, stickers and blending modes), the interface is easy enough for beginners to dive in right away and start creating art. To give you an example of what’s possible, here’s an image (far beyond my feeble talents) created by ArtRage community member BoxFree.

The Pro version includes support for wet blending of paints, and Photoshop filters among other things. Both versions of the app work great with Wacom or Adesso drawing tablets, but I’ve also really enjoyed using it with my HP Touchsmart, where I figured out you could paint with real brushes! If you really want to see how well it works, there’s a great gallery of creations made with ArtRage here. You can also grab a 30-day demo copy to play with. But you really want the full version, right?

So back to the contest….

We’ve got 10 copies of the full ArtRage 3 Studio ($40 value each) to give away – either PC or Mac version, and all you need to do for a chance to win is post a comment below, telling us what feature of ArtRage 3 you’re most excited about. To get you started, check out the features list here. To be considered for the drawing, you must provide a valid comment and e-mail address (Limit 1 submission per e-mail or IP address, junk/spam entries will be disqualified). We will pick 10 random winners from all valid entries. It’s that easy! The contest will end at 11:59pm Central time on 5/26/2010, so get your entries in now!

[ArtRage]

Submissions will be classified into 4 groups according to the year level of the contestants: K-3, 4-6, 7-9, and 10-12. Four national finalists will be chosen, one from each of the four groups. The national prize winner gets a ton of prizes, including the privilege of having his or her winning doodle displayed on Google’s homepage for one whole day, reaching out to billions of people. Not even the Louvre can top that kind of exposure!

For more details, check out the contest homepage. Kids (who live in the United States and are in school), grab your pen and paper and start doodling!

[via Inventor Spot]

Sony asked a number of us bloggers to snap photos using the camera’s unique sweep panorama feature – then enter them into a competition. The winner will get to send 10 of these wonderful little digital cameras to the school of their choice. If I end up winning, I’d like to pledge mine to Carl Schurz High School, a diverse public institution which emphasizes math, creative arts, science and technology right here in my neighborhood in Chicago.

So back to the camera… the WX1 can shoot seamless horizontal or vertical panoramas with a simple sweeping motion of the camera. As the camera is moved from side-to-side or up-and-down, it snaps numerous photos in rapid succesion and automatically stitches them together into a panorama. As an added bonus, this pocket-size 10-megapixel camera can also capture 720p HD video.

The  photo contest runs until December 18th, and the winning school will be awarded their prize on December 22nd. All you’ve got to do is head on over to the photo contest page over on we say, and vote for your favorite photos. I can’t tell you which ones are mine, but there are lots of cool panoramas up there already, and every vote you make will help a school get a welcome holiday gift.

No seriously it’s not just about having fun. Here’s what the organizers say about the contest: “One of the main purposes of this competition is to be able to compare different controller development methodologies against each other, both those based on learning techniques such as artificial evolution and those that are completely hand-coded.” Pardon the screenshot; the algorithm-controlled Mario is just too fast for may screen cap skills. Here’s the AI in action:

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Wow. I didn’t even know you could wall jump your way out of a hole.

[via TechEBlog]

The contest pitted robot submarines developed by competitors from various universities around the world, all of them eager to bring us closer to Armageddon, one torpedo-carrying robot at a time. The competition was judged by Kelly Cooper, program officer at the Office of Naval Research, and she said that this was the first year that a robot submarine was able to finish the obstacle course with time to spare. She seemed so scared of the results that she temporarily forgot what her department was. Here she is and her palpable fear caught on cam, along with a bunch of future Resistance members paradoxically cheering Skynet’s prototypes.

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Check out the AUVSI AUV website for more details on the competition, along with videos of serene waters being conquered by future killer robots.

[via BotJunkie]

Thanks to the guys over at BuckyBalls, Technabob readers can win these just by guessing how many balls are in the photo below. All you’ve got to do is post a comment below, along with your guess as of the exact number of BuckyBalls in the image below, and you’ll be entered to win.

If you get it right, you’ll win a bunch of BuckyBalls magnets!

• 1st place (closest to exact number) wins 3 sets (value $75 USD)
• 2nd place wins 2 sets (value $50 USD)
• 3rd through 5th places win 1 set each (value $25 USD)

Click to View Embedded Video Clip

Can’t wait to play with these things? Then head on over to GetBuckyBalls and order a few sets right now. The first 30 readers to buy a set will save $2.50 by entering the promo code “technabob” at checkout.

CONTEST RULES: You must have U.S. shipping address to participate, and only one entry per IP address will be allowed (so don’t go tinkering around with 10 different e-mail addresses!) Be sure to post a valid e-mail address, as it’s the only way I can contact you to let you know you’ve won. The contest ends on 7/31/2009 and any ties will be subject to a random drawing from the pool of winning entries.

The PC was made by steampunk artist Jake Hildebrandt to promote the release of the PC video game Damnation. It’s equipped with an Intel Core i7 965 CPU, 12 gigs of DDR3 RAM, an X57 chipset motherboard, a Dual Radeon 4870X2 card, and a 1 Terabyte hard drive. It just might be able to play Crysis.

The contest runs until June 19; unfortunately it’s for US/Canadian citizens only. Check out Destructoid for more details.

[via SlipperyBrick]

S-Mode Oberon IPB: 11:36

Tokyoflash Infection: 3:56

Nekura Progression: 10:45 (PM)

Tokyoflash Shinshoku: 9:37

Tokyoflash 1000100101 Black: 10:19

Nekura Tumbler: 5:38 or 5:39 (either was accepted)

Tokyoflash Kyokusen: 10:34

Tokyoflash Galaxy: 10:38

Pimp P3 Pusher: 14:19 (or 2:19 pm)

S-Mode Oberon SS: 10:36

See. Wasn’t that easy? (Not.)

Despite the challenge, we ended up with 99 correct entries (out of several hundred complete submissions), so the winners came down to a random drawing from those entries. The three lucky winners are Danny Delgado, Kristofer King, and somebody going by the name of p00k k00p. They’ll all be receiving their choice of any of the wondrous watches featured in the contest.

Thanks to all who entered, and a very special thanks to the guys over at Tokyoflash for providing these great prizes. Be sure to visit their shop and pick yourself up a shiny new watch for yourself even if you didn’t win. You know you deserve it.

How’d you like to win a really cool modern watch from Tokyoflash? Well, if you can tell time, you could win a free watch! Read on, and learn how.

So here’s the deal: Head on over to the Tokyoflash website and find the product pages for the each of the following 10 modern watch designs:

For each watch, make note of the time that you think is on the FIRST watch photo on the product page, then e-mail your completed list (alongside the watch names above) to tokyoflash@technabob.com. If you’re paying attention and actually reading this, here’s a freebie to get you started:

That’s the S-Mode Oberon IPB, and the time reads 11:36. Easy, no?  AM/PM doesn’t matter, so don’t worry about that either.

The 3 people who get the most answers correct will win their choice any one of the watches listed. If more than 3 of you get the entire list correct, winners will be picked from a random drawing from the top entries.

Thanks to the guys over at Tokyoflash for providing the prizes for this giveaway!

Only entries e-mailed to tokyoflash@technabob.com will be eligible. One entry per e-mail address please. Contest ends at 11:59pm Central Time on Monday, August 11, 2008. Open to readers 18 ages and older only.

Valued at up to $1,895 a piece, each pass will get you into the entire show, including:

• All sessions (Wed – Fri)
• Workshops on Tues, April 22
• All keynote and plenary presentations
• The Expo and all events held in the Expo
• All conference networking events
• Web2Open
• Continental Breakfast & Lunch (Tues – Fri)

Here’s How to Enter:

Simply write a really clever or witty caption for the photo above (taken at a previous Web 2.0 Expo), and post it in the comments below. The best two entries (in my opinion) will win passes. That’s all you need to do. Be sure to provide a valid e-mail address so I can contact you if you are a winner.

Since the conference begins on Tuesday, April 22, and online registration ends this Friday at 5pm, this is going to be a very short contest. That said, entries must be submitted by 11:59pm Central time on Thursday, April 17th, 2008 to qualify. Each winning entry will receive a special code which can be redeemed for one full Web 2.0 Expo conference and workshop pass.

If you’re not able to get yourself to San Francisco for the conference, please don’t enter and let someone who can attend win and enjoy the show.

Grand Prize Winner
Original Nintendo Mini Collage by Chris Lange

Posted by Jack: “My brother and I used to play 2-player Super Mario Brothers when we were growing up. I would get frustrated when he was playing for too long, so I convinced him the pits in one the water levels were warp zones. He fell for it and died. Then it was my turn again, but not before he threw his controller at me and made my nose bleed. Also, I would beat him in the head with my Gameboy if he beat me in 2-player linked Tetris.”

Runner Up Prize Winners (5)
Nintendo Collage Digital Print by Chris Lange

Posted by Jenny G: “I was introduced to the Nintendo system rather late in life (not until college in the late 90s). Super Mario Brothers, however, I used to play on the Commodore 64 with my older brother.

My favorite Nintendo memory spans a decade. When I first started playing the SMB games, I always had trouble getting by the flying turtles. My roommate (whose systems we were playing on) always played Mario and I got to play Luigi. One day when we were first playing, I ran right into a flying turtle and died. Without thinking about it, I burst out with “That d*mn duck!” (yes, I know they are actually turtles, but in my defense the graphics weren’t what they are now…) My roommate was so surprised that he started laughing so hard that he didn’t realize that he had walked into a spike pit until the game over sign showed up.

Last year, my husband bought SMB3 for the gameboy since I kept insisting that it was the only game that I knew how to fly. Unfortunately, my game playing had not improved over the last decade and within my first hour of gameplay, the flying turtles and I were duking it out. My husband (who was playing the Wii while I was sitting there playing the gameboy) fell off the couch laughing when once again I shouted “That d*mn duck!”

Alas, neither my former roommate nor my husband will let me forget those comments…”

Posted by Sarah: “When my brother and I were kids there was a rule that our friends couldn’t come into the house when mom wasn’t home. Well we wanted to play Nintendo with our friends so we put the tv up against the front window, faced it outside and ran the controllers out the door! Lol!”

Posted by Lucky: “When I was a much younger, more innocent geek, I entered one of those supermarket coloring contests. All I had to was color in a pre-drawn picture of Mario and Princess Toadstool for the chance at a super secret grand prize! I got a call one day that I was the winner of… free accordion lessons. Man did they have my geekiness pegged. I went for a couple lessons and in honor of my dubious win, I learned how to play the Super Mario Bros. theme on the piano accordion. I quit my lessons after I realized the actual game was way more fun.”

Posted by The Charles: “It’s December 25, 1987 and I am 5 years old eagerly waiting to unwrap my presents. I haven’t slept all night because I know I’m going to unwrap the coolest present ever: a NES gaming system (or as this native, Texan boy says, “a Nin-‘tin-da!”). To my dismay, I had no presents left and I hadn’t unwrapped my NES yet. I was disheartened when my mom gave me an envelope. I thought to myself, “Great, it’s going to be money or something.” The note inside the envelope said, “Santa left another gift in the bed of the truck in the garage.” I slowly walked into the garage and immediately my attitude went from sad to running around my house like a madman when I saw the NES box! To this day, my mom always tells me this story and wishes she would’ve had a video camera to record it.”

Posted by Lee: “My fondest Nintendo memory was buying SNES just after my 7th birthday. I went to the window with my mom to pick up the system, and the guy working said, “You know it doesn’t come with a game, right?” I must’ve looked pretty sad when I said I knew, and I’d have to get one later, because he slipped Mario Kart into my bag and said “Don’t ask any questions.” At the time, Mario Kart was the hottest game in the world. Playing it was one of the greatest experiences of my life.”

Random Prize Winner
$50 Amazon Gift Certificate

Posted by Carol: “My fondest memory of Nintendo is of my son, now 23, who was 5 years old when he saved the princess on Mario Brothers. The entire family gathered around the tv in absolute awe, as we watched this little kid beat the game, which none of us could do. To this day, he’s got extremely good hand-eye coordination, and in fact, is a professional athlete. Thanks Nintendo!”

Thanks again for all the great stories and congratulations to those who won! All prize winners will be notified by e-mail shortly to arrange for delivery of prizes. Stay tuned for more Technabob reader contests in the near future.

In the mean time, be sure to swing by Chris Lange’s Etsy shop or eBay page to thank him for his generous prize donations!

We’re looking for you to share the best, brightest, funniest, and generally most creative Nintendo-inspired memories. The grand prize winner will receive a super-cool original Nintendo collage by artist Chris Lange, while five runners up will get a high-quality digital print of one of Chris’ collages. And if we get at least 100 entries (we’re getting close now), a random entrant will win fifty bucks to spend on a Nintendo game of their choice over at Amazon.

To enter the contest, just submit a comment on the original contest page.

Nintendo fanboys and fangirls, here’s a chance for you guys to win some awesome prizes. Just share your fondest Nintendo-related memories (by posting a comment below) and you could win an original custom Nintendo collage by fan favorite artist Chris Lange.

Chris has generously donated the following prizes for the best entries that we receive:

• 1 Grand Prize winner
  Custom handmade ‘mini’ collage of any Nintendo character you want
• 5 Runner Up winners
  Signed 8×10 digital print of Mario, Yoshi, Waluigi, or Peach

Plus, if we get at least 100 contest entries, we’ll throw in a random drawing for $50 Amazon certificate which you can use to buy a new Nintendo game with. So even if your story doesn’t win, you’ve still got a chance to go home with a prize.

Contest Rules

To enter the contest, simply leave a comment at the end of this article, telling us your fondest Nintendo-related memory (in 150 words or less). Share any Nintendo story you’d like, but we’ll be awarding the prizes to the ones we think are the most creative, entertaining, outlandish, sentimental, humorous or just downright enjoyable.

To get your creative juices flowing, Chris has contributed this story which best describes his fondness for the “Big N”:

From the time I first picked up an NES controller, to now where I have to force myself to put the Wii controller down, there have been a lot of great Nintendo memories to choose from.

Most important to me is the game that took my fondness for video games and turned it into a passion; Ocarina of Time.

There isn’t really a singular moment I recall best, I just remember the feeling I got when playing through it the first time. I could sit on my family room floor and play for hours, happy to simply ride around the fields of Hyrule. For me, that was the game that made me realize I wanted video games to be a part of my life for years to come.

All entries must be received prior to 11:59pm Central Time on Monday, March 31, 2008 to be eligible. You must post using a valid e-mail address, and only one entry will be accepted per e-mail account. Winners will be selected by Technabob editorial staff and the artist to determine one Grand Prize winner and five Runners Up. We reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments and comment spam.

About the Artist

Chris Lange is an up and coming artist based in the Washington DC area. He is best known for his Nintendo themed collages, which are made entirely of old Nintendo Power magazines. Fittingly enough, these collages have been featured in Nintendo Power magazine, and one is even displayed in the Nintendo of America headquarters on the west coast.

Mr. Lange, an avid gamer and die-hard Nintendo fan, has attracted significant international attention for his work. In addition to his collages, his portfolio includes black and white and color photography, and computer illustrations.

If you’d like to find out more about Chris Lange or request a custom collage visit his personal website. If you are interested in purchasing one of Chris’ originals or even one of his prints you can do so at his Etsy or eBay pages.